Lavrov calls for complying with principle of indivisibility of citizens’ rights

KIEV, December 05. /ITAR-TASS/. In order to build a security community the OSCE should comply with the principle of indivisibility of freedom, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at the 20th session of the Council of OSCE Foreign Ministers currently underway in Kiev.

“This means that states should not strengthen citizens’ rights by restricting their freedom and rights. Sixty-five years ago the U.N. General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Russia is committed to the U.N. and OSCE universal obligations and urges all countries to fulfil their obligations in full,” Lavrov said.

“We talked about freedom of movement long ago. The Schengen barriers do not correspond to the Helsinki Final Act on easing visa formalities. The EU regulations, which demand the member-countries introduce visas with third countries, run counter the essence of the agreements,” the Russian minister said.

“The recent report by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights notes Brussels’ restrictive policy and pressure on neighboring countries in order to create obstacles to entering the European Union,” he said, adding “We insist on giving an analysis of conformity of visa legislation of all states to the OSCE obligations.